BY NICHOLAS BRANDT
Following the release of Super Mario Run on the iPhone, Nintendo gives back to the loyal Android users waiting for the app to be released by announcing a new game within a Nintendo Direct. From Intelligent Systems, legendary heroes such as Marth and Ike return in the new mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes.
As a less popular and well-known game than the Mario series, Fire Emblem Heroes is a simplified version from the original series. The series boasts the basic RPG style of gameplay while implementing a powerful and epic story with fantasy elements intertwined. The series originated mainly in Japan, but moved to the Americas and was localized for player enjoyment.
The plot of the game is definitely a lot simpler than the series normally writes, but it is considered extensive for a mobile game. The controls are a bit more complex, however: with weapon triangles to character skills, getting the hang of everything that the game offers can be difficult at times. However, it’s not too hard to the point that the game is unplayable without YouTube. Battles are handled like a chess board, with drag-and-drop “pieces” attacking one another.
This installment in the series is definitely one to be considered, if not played. The actual app itself is only about 50 megabytes, but the entire app is approximately 600 megabytes. This is a bit more than half of an entire gigabyte! With a large app like this, space in one’s phone is something to keep in mind. Unlike Miitomo, Nintendo’s social media app, this app doesn’t drain a battery easily and doesn’t overheat the device used to play it.
However, like Super Mario Run, the app does have a sour spot: paid purchases. Though every resource can be earned for free either by playing the game or waiting a certain amount of time, there is an option available to purchase them instead. The prices are extremely high for no reason, and I feel that it once again is used to pay the developers not only from Nintendo, but from Intelligent Systems as well. Orbs, for example, are items used to obtain new characters with different weapons. They typically cost around 4 Orbs each from a gacha system, or a random selection of a set. You can earn one by completing a chapter from the story mode, but the offer only lasts once per map. They are given out as parts of quests and daily login rewards, but they are otherwise difficult to obtain. Nintendo plans on fixing this in the near future.
Overall, Fire Emblem Heroes is a very unique game. Though it does not apply to all tastes in terms of gaming, it is very easy to try and worth a chance. It is currently available in the Google Play Store, but will be posted for Apple devices “soon”. The exact date is unknown, but it will likely be released when Super Mario Run comes out on the Google Play Store.
